


city in a garden

by forgetpoundgivemekoenig



Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-04 18:24:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17903240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgetpoundgivemekoenig/pseuds/forgetpoundgivemekoenig
Summary: Seunghyun is Jiyong's TA at university





	city in a garden

**Author's Note:**

> i'm posting this to see what kind of response it gets, honestly. i also didn't want it to sit in my drafts and get deleted before i could post it lol

The university is small for all its prestige and Seunghyun isn't surprised to find himself faced with the prospect of being one of the few Korean candidates in his doctorate program. He's a little concerned by the lack of diversity among the undergraduate students but, otherwise, the university offers him opportunities and compensations that far surpass what he would have found at a larger university. Really, he couldn't have asked for a better program, especially in his field--Middle Eastern & Asian Studies. He finds a relatively cheap apartment within walking distance of the campus and settles into his new routine easily. 

Until his first day as a TA for an English 1101 class. 

Punctual to a fault, Seunghyun arrives fifteen minutes early for the 9 AM class and arranges his materials carefully on one of the desks at the front of the room. The TA program is relatively new and the classrooms only have a single podium at the front of the room for the professors. Sitting in the desk, Seunghyun remembers his first day of his undergraduate years with a fond smile. He had always enjoyed school and college had been a non-negotiable next step after he had graduated from high school. Of course, he had been the first in his family to attend an American university, so his freshmen year had been challenging. As a TA, he hoped to provide a source of support for those students who were facing similar challenges to the ones that he had faced. Musing on this, he studies each student carefully as they stumble through the doorway and fall into various desks. None of them look particularly like they're struggling--mostly, they just look exhausted. Seunghyun, ever an early riser, is unable to empathize. He notes that a few of them cast him curious glances as they take their seats, but no one bothers to speak. Too early in the morning, he assumes, for casual conversation. Even Dr. Jones, when he steps into the classroom a minute before 9, looks as if he would rather be in bed. 

"Good morning, class.” 

A few of the students mumble back. A typical early morning class, honestly. It can’t be helped. 

"I can see that this is going to be a lively class," Dr. Jones comments wryly. "Well, I guess it can't be helped. Today we'll be going over the syllabus, although I'm sure you've already read it on your own." 

No one bothers to confirm or deny the comment, but Dr. Jones doesn’t seem bothered. He simply sets his briefcase down by the podium and begins turning on the various bits of technology. While Dr. Jones busies himself at the podium, Seunghyun opens his own laptop to the emails he and the man had exchanged a week previously. Within the email list, the syllabus is attached with a few added notes. He pulls this up and turns his attention back to the front of the room. The syllabus is projected onto the whiteboard and Dr. Jones has moved away from the podium to better engage with the image.  

He gestures to the list of required materials, "As you can see, we have an exciting semester before us. We'll be covering a broad range of materials, from poetry to prose, and we won't be paying any particular attention to place. Mostly, I would like you to leave this class with an understanding of how to write a university level paper on the themes, style, and mechanics of a poem, essay, novel, or short story." Fairly basic, Seunghyun thinks. "As for the personal, my name is Samson Jones. I earned my doctorate at the University of Iowa, so you may call me Dr. Jones." Dr. Jones adjusts his glasses and peers into the sea of faces. "Seunghyun, could you stand, please?"

As per usual, Dr. Jones butchers Seunghyun's name. 

Seunghyun stands. "My name is Seunghyun Choi and I'm a Ph.D. student at the university. I'm your TA this semester, so I will be assisting Dr. Jones. As well as providing you with another resource to use when you need it." 

The class titters and Seunghyun can hear several different mispronunciations of his name from various corners of the room. A sleepy eyed soccer player with a mess of brown hair narrows his eyes in confusion. “How do you even _spell_ that?" 

Seunghyun resists the urge to roll his eyes at the comment. "S-E-U-N-G-H-Y-U-N. If you find it difficult to pronounce that, then you can certainly refer to me as Mr. Choi. I'll respond to either." 

There are a few murmured comments, but no more questions. 

"Thank you, Seunghyun," Dr. Jones says, and Seunghyun takes this as his cue to return to his seat. The shock of his name has worn off and the students have resumed their exhausted silence. "Now, who would like to read the passage on our absence policy?" 

No one raises their hand and Dr. Jones gives Seunghyun an expectant look. Dutifully, he begins to read the indicated section. Of course, the class continues much the same way, with Seunghyun picking up the slack of the disinterested students. He’s almost grateful when the door flies open a third of the way through the syllabus and a frantic looking man with bleached blond hair and a tattered backpack rushes in. Dr. Jones is momentarily stunned but quickly composes himself enough to aim a steely glare at the student. "You're late." 

"I'm sorry, sir. I just came from the registrar." 

"Have you just been added?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Well, you can have a seat by our TA, then." 

Looking relieved, the blond hurries to the front of the room and the indicated desk but pauses before taking his seat to raise his eyebrows at Seunghyun. "You're the TA? What's your name?" Seunghyun understands the confusion--he's as surprised to see another Korean in the class as the blond is. Seunghyun clears his throat. 

"I am. My name is Seunghyun Choi. And you are?" 

"Kwon Jiyong!" The blond, Jiyong, responds boisterously. "It's nice to meet you, Seunghun-nim!" And then, to Seunghyun's and the rest of the classroom's astonishment, Jiyong actually bows. Thankfully, after this display, he finally drops his things by the empty desk and takes his seat. Seunghyun is too stunned by the bow to respond to the use of the honorific. 

"Well, let's continue," Dr. Jones says briskly. The class resumes without further incident; however, Seunghyun can't help but pay close attention to Jiyong throughout the lecture. Did he really call Seunghyun by an honorific? And did he really think it was necessary to  _bow_? There was no distinguishable accent, but his actions were culturally more Korean than American. Had he immigrated recently? If he had, wouldn't he have had an accent? It was possible that Seunghyun had been too stupefied to pick up on an accent; and yet, Korean accents were hard to ignore. Surely, if Jiyong had an accent, Seunghyun would have noticed it immediately. Besides, the university exchange program was fairly new and a majority of the exchange students were from Europe. There were a thousand variables and Seunghyun was privy to none of them, so it was useless to speculate. He forces his mind back to the syllabus and Dr. Jone's thorough explanation of the final essay. Still, he finds his mind wandering to Jiyong, who's scribbling away in his notebook--in a mixture of English and Korean.

When Dr. Jones finally dismisses them, Seunghyun is thoroughly baffled. His confusion only grows when Jiyong turns to him and addresses him in Korean: _"Are you a Ph.D. student?"_   Seunghyun's brain is slow to comprehend the sudden switch from English; therefore, it takes him a full thirty seconds to process the question. 

"Yes," He says in English. 

_"Do you like it?"_

"I like it a lot." 

Jiyong frowns slightly, "You speak Korean, yeah? Are you fluent?" 

"More than," Seunghyun says primly. "My dissertation is on the inconsistencies within Western translations of South Korean literature." He had done a lot of research on the subject when he was in the Master's program at his old university and had become something of an expert. 

"Oh, cool!" Jiyong says earnestly, "You must be a genius!" 

Seunghyun chuckles, "Not even close. I just have a lot of passion for the subject. If you give me a math problem, I'm absolutely useless. I think that annoys my parents, honestly." Jiyong hmm's in response but doesn't say anything. "And you?" Seunghyun presses, "What's your major?" 

"Business and Public Policy," Jiyong says bitterly. "I should have changed it when I had the chance. I'm graduating in May and all I can think about is how much my life is going to suck from then on." 

"You're a senior?" 

"I hate English, so I kind of put these classes off." 

"A lot of students do." 

Jiyong frowns again, "So why don't you speak Korean? If you're fluent?" 

Seunghyun's mind falters at the abrupt change in subject and he can only manage a feeble "I'm not sure." 

"Are you ashamed of being Korean?" Jiyong accuses. 

"What? Absolutely not. My entire dissertation hinges on my being Korean, why would I be ashamed of it?" He pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts before he continues, "I suppose I've just become accustomed to speaking, thinking, and  _being_ English. I'm twenty-seven, and I haven't lived with my parents since I was eighteen. What's more, most of my roommates have been white. And the closest restaurant to my apartment is Cuban. I just don't have the _opportunity_ to be Korean." 

"Huh," Jiyong says simply. "Do you want to get coffee sometime?" 

Seunghyun blinks. "Pardon?" 

"I immigrated to America when I was fourteen, and I'm twenty-two now. That's, what, eight years? I visit South Korea every summer and I call my parents every day. I have a lot of opportunities to be Korean, I guess. I just wanted to give you one, you know?" 

"Oh," Seunghyun says stupidly. "That's very nice of you." 

"So? Are you free tomorrow?" 

"I usually have coffee at the campus cafe at 7 AM." Jiyong makes a face and Seunghyun feels the need to explain himself. “I’m an early riser.” 

"All right," Jiyong says simply, as if it can't be helped. "I'll see you tomorrow, Seunghyun-nim. Or should I call you Seunghyun-hyung? Maybe -nim in the classroom, but -hyung around campus?" 

"That works." 

"Cool!" Jiyong shoulders his bag and walks out of the classroom. Only then does Seunghyun realize that he's alone and running late to his meeting with his advisor. Swearing he dashes into the hallway and narrowly avoids colliding with a passing professor. With only five minutes before his meeting and the building on the other side of the campus, he knows he'll never make it. Slowing marginally at the entrance to the building, he considers emailing his advisor to reschedule, but that would mean delaying his thesis proposal by another week. He can't afford to lose any time if he wants to complete the program in three years. Resigning himself to looking like a disheveled mess for the rest of the day, he sprints down the sidewalk. Fortunately, he's always been relatively athletic, and running has been his favored form of exercise since he was in high school--he often starts his day with a five-mile run through the campus. Even so, his breathing is heavy and his skin is covered in sweat when he finally reaches the administrative building that serves a dual purpose as the literature department offices. The inside of the building is blissfully cool when he steps through the doorway and descends the steps to the lower level where his advisor's office is. Dr. Bogan has often expressed her distaste with her office, which she likens to a cell in a dungeon, but Seunghyun enjoys the privacy of the space. It's always quiet in the hallway and they're hardly ever interrupted. As always, Dr. Bogan is absorbed in her work when he taps on the door, and she seems slightly surprised to see him. Gesturing for him to take a seat, she moves a particularly ancient looking edition of James Joyce off of her desk and onto the floor. "Was our meeting today? I totally forgot," She says by way of greeting. Seunghyun isn't offended--she often forgets her meetings and appointments. At seventy-three years old, he supposes she's earned that right. He just considers himself fortunate to be able to collaborate with her. The rumor around the department is that she'll be retiring within the next year. 

"I want to be able to submit my thesis proposal as soon as possible," Seunghyun reminds her. 

"Ah, of course!" 

"I know we discussed potential difficulties, Dr. Bogan, but I was wondering if you thought I would be ready to submit within the week?" 

Dr. Bogan considers the question seriously, "Do you feel ready, Seunghyun?" One of the reasons why Seunghyun is grateful to have been taken on by Dr. Bogan is that she has never mispronounced his name. 

"I feel ready. I believe that my thesis is strong and that the research I am doing will provide new and valuable insight into the world of Eastern literature as consumed by Western audiences." 

"Then, by all means, submit! I've thought that you were ready since I first met you, Mr. Choi." Another reason that Seunghyun enjoys working with Dr. Bogan is that she cycles through a seemingly random selection of names and nicknames to refer to him by. 

"You're very kind," He tips his head in thanks and the gesture reminds him of Jiyong's bow from earlier that morning. Their discussion after class had only marginally cleared things up. 

"I'm never kind, love, but I'm always honest." 

"I appreciate your honesty, then." 

"I've always been honest, and not always to my advantage. Often, I wonder if I could even call it a virtue. Either way, you have my full support, if you decide to submit in two hours or two years. I only want to see you succeed, so you can trust my advice." 

They speak for another few minutes before Seunghyun excuses himself to return to his apartment. His schedule is fairly lenient, with plenty of gaps between classes. He's only TAing for Dr. Jones' class, so he does freelance work as an editor for an online magazine to earn a little extra money. There are a few pieces awaiting his attention when he opens his email, and he works on them while he boils water for oatmeal. When he's finished editing, he'll look over his thesis proposal a final time before submitting it. His heart races at the thought. There's a grace period for those students whose proposals are rejected, but it's an unwritten rule that those students never last longer than a year. Call it fatalist, but Seunghyun considers himself as good as finished if his proposal is rejected. His only consolation is that Dr. Bogan, a woman well respected within academia, believes that his proposal is ready. Wracked with nerves, he's unable to eat his oatmeal when it's finished, despite being starving a few minutes before. He's surprised his hand doesn't shake when he presses submit and a window pops up congratulating him on his submission. After a few minutes, his appetite comes back in full force, and he eats the oatmeal quickly. He sends an email to Dr. Bogan alerting her to his submission and she responds immediately with a congratulatory (and emoticon riddled) message.

Seunghyun smiles. 

 

 

 

 


End file.
